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RCR Enterprises, LLC, doing business as Richard Childress Racing, is a NASCAR team based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by former driver Richard Childress. The team currently fields the #27 Menards Chevrolet for Paul Menard, the #29 Budweiser/Rheem/Jimmy John's Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick, and the #31 Caterpillar Inc./General Mills/BB&T Chevrolet for Jeff Burton in the Sprint Cup Series. Childress is also listed as owner of the #33, which he sold in April 2012 to Virginia car dealer and former NASCAR team owner Joe Falk. In the Nationwide Series, the team fields the #2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet Impala for Elliott Sadler, the #3 AdvoCare/Bass Pro Shops/American Ethanol Chevrolet for Austin Dillon, and the #33 Rheem/Menards/South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa Chevrolet for various drivers. In the Truck Series, the team fields the #2 Applebee's/South Point/Tide Chevrolet Silverado for Tim George, Jr.,Gaughan, and Harvick, the #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Silverado for Ty Dillon and the #22 Rip It Chevrolet Silverado for Joey Coulter in the. RCR also runs developmental drivers in the ARCA Racing Series, fielding the #31 Chevrolet for Tim George, Jr.. RCR has fielded cars for notables such as Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, and Neil Bonnett. RCR has had at least one car in every Cup race since late 1972, the longest such active streak.

Sprint Cup Series[link]

Car #27 history[link]

What eventually became the #27 car at RCR was formed in 2001 as the #30 America Online Chevrolet. Childress originally planned to have Kevin Harvick drive this car on a limited basis during that season as part of a transition from the Busch Series to Winston Cup for 2002, but after Dale Earnhardt's death Harvick was moved into RCR's primary car and 2000 Busch Series champion Jeff Green was selected to drive the car in his place. The team debuted at the NAPA Auto Parts 500 at California Speedway, with Green finishing 21st. The team qualified for six more races that season, with Green earning a pole at the Sharpie 500 at Bristol in August, and went full-time the next season as scheduled with Green behind the wheel.

Green posted six top-tens in the 2002 season, including a career best second at Loudon in July and finished seventeenth in points. Although the team started 2003 with a Daytona 500 pole, Green and the team failed to jell as Childress had hoped and later that season, in what amounted to a trade between organizations, Green was replaced by the former driver of the #1 car at Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Steve Park (Green took Park's ride at DEI following his firing). In 2004, Childress promoted Johnny Sauter to the ride, hoping he would work like Harvick. Sauter was released just 13 races into the season. After that, Dave Blaney drove the car, only skipping Infineon Raceway when Jim Inglebright took the wheel. A couple of weeks after it was announced Blaney would be in the car for rest of the year, Jeff Burton became available, and Childress knew he was too good to pass up, leaving Blaney out in the cold. Burton drove the car for the rest of the year, and when Robby Gordon left to start his own team, Burton moved to the 31. With AOL leaving as sponsor, Childress had two voids left to fill. He decided to rehire Blaney, and signed Jack Daniel's to sponsor the car, marking one of the first hard liquor sponsorships in NASCAR's history. The team also changed its number to 07 to commemorate JD's slogan "Ol' No. 7". Blaney posted just 2 top ten finishes during 2005, finishing 26th in the standings. As a result, Blaney moved to Bill Davis Racing in 2006. The following year, rookie Clint Bowyer was placed in the #07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet for RCR. Bowyer not only put the 07 solidly in the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, but also took the first win for this team at the Sylvania 300 at Loudon. Clint finished third in the final standings in 2007. In 2008 Clint got his second win at Richmond at the Richmond. On August 23, 2008, former Hendrick Motorsports driver Casey Mears was signed to drive the 07 in 2009, with Bowyer moving to the fourth RCR car, the #33. Mears struggled in the new ride, however, and had to take on three crew chiefs during the season. More troubling was the fact that Jack Daniel's announced in 2009 that they would be leaving RCR at the end of the year, leaving the 07 without a sponsor. Childress decided to release Mears at the end of the year and sell the 07's owners points to Furniture Row Racing.

The fourth team's car was revived for the 2011 season, as Paul Menard was signed by RCR on August 11, 2010 after he decided to leave the struggling Richard Petty Motorsports. The car was re-numbered to 27, and former TRG Motorsports partner Tom Pumpelly was listed as the owner of the #27 and the #35th place owner's points were given to Menard. Menard won the Brickyard 400 presented by BigMachineRecords.com at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 31, 2011. Menard spent most of the season flirting with the top 12 in points, but ultimately missed the Chase despite his victory. Menard and the 27 team would end up finishing 17th in points.

Car #29 history[link]

Kevin Harvick driving the 29 car on pit road because of a flat tire.

RCR debuted at the 1969 Talladega 500 as a 1968 Chevy numbered 13. Childress himself drove the car, finishing 23rd after suffering axle problems. In 1972, the team came back to run fourteen races with Childress driving again, but didn't go fulltime until 1976 when he would begin using the #3. Childress earned eleven top-10 finishes and finished eleventh in points that year. Over the next few years, he posted many top-10s and twice was among the highest top 10 points earners, but he never was in serious contention to win. In 1981, he decided to end his career before the season ended, and handed his #3 ride to the defending Winston Cup champion, Dale Earnhardt, who brought his Wrangler sponsorship with him.

After posting six-top tens, Earnhardt left to drive for Bud Moore, and Ricky Rudd took his place for the 1982 season, with Piedmont Airlines becoming the sponsor. Rudd drove the car for both 1982 and 1983 finishing 9th in points both years, and winning twice the latter. But after the season was over, Rudd was replaced by none other than Earnhardt himself, with Wrangler back as sponsor (in perhaps an odd twist of fate, Rudd moved to Earnhardt's old ride, the #15 Bud Moore Engineering Wrangler-sponsored Ford Thunderbird, which actually kept its sponsorship despite Earnhardt leaving). This time, Earnhardt was back for good, winning six championships over the next two decades, with crew chiefs Kirk Shelmerdine and Andy Petree, and Goodwrench replacing Wrangler as sponsor after 1987. During the latter part of the 90's Earnhardt's performance began to slow down, and went through 1997 without a single victory. In 1998, he won the Daytona 500 after 20 starts, all ending in losses. The next year, he was able to capture wins at Talladega, as well as cause more controversy, after he spun Terry Labonte to win on the last lap at Bristol Motor Speedway. In 2000, he looked like he was finally regaining his old form, winning twice and finishing runner-up to Bobby Labonte in points, and his many fans hoped he was gearing up for his record-breaking eighth championship. Sadly, this was not to be. On February 18, 2001, on the last lap of the Daytona 500, Earnhardt was tagged from behind and crashed head-on into the turn 4 wall. He did not survive and was pronounced dead at 5:16 pm. NASCAR was numb with grief. Deciding to carry on, Childress changed the number of the car to 29, changed the paint scheme from black to white, and chose his Busch Series driver Kevin Harvick to drive the car.

After three races Harvick beat out Jeff Gordon by mere inches to win the Cracker Barrel 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, dedicating the win to Earnhardt. After posting another win at Chicagoland Speedway, Harvick won NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors. In 2002, Harvick's infamous temper escalated after announcing on his radio he would intentionally wreck another racer during a Craftsman Truck race. In response, NASCAR benched Harvick for the next race, and was replaced during that time by Kenny Wallace. Since then, Harvick has won eight races, including the prestigious Brickyard 400 and Daytona 500 while scoring a (at the time) career-best points effort of 4th in both 2006 and 2008. Despite a win early in the season, back-to-back seasons of missing "The Chase for the Nextel Cup" with 14th-place efforts proved to be frustrating, as Harvick threatened to leave the team if performance did not improve. A series of strong runs near the end of 2005 seemed to satisfy him, however, and he was back in the car in 2006 with Reese's as a new co-primary sponsor. After a somewhat slow start, Harvick hit his stride in April, with a string of Top 10 finishes, including a win at Phoenix. He eventually made the chase and led the standings for the first time in the first week of the chase. This helped RCR to be a dominant force in NASCAR again. After weeks of speculation as to where Kevin would drive starting in 2007, he and RCR announced a new three-year deal, with Kevin driving for Childress until 2009.

For 2007 the team had a significant change in sponsorship. GM Goodwrench would become an associate sponsor on the #29, while Shell Oil Company and Pennzoil took over primary sponsorship. Harvick's 2007 season started out on a high note with a win in the 2007 Daytona 500 in a close finish with veteran Mark Martin. Harvick would score another win at the All Star, holding off Jimmie Johnson. Harvick entered a slump during the summer, and was involved in a trackside altercation with Juan Pablo Montoya. However, Harvick and his team held off a struggling Dale Earnhardt Jr. to make the Chase for the Cup. Harvick's Chase performance would not be a repeat of 2006, and he would finish 10th in the points. Harvick won the 2009 Budweiser Shootout and finished second in the Daytona 500.

After not making the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup, it was expected that Harvick would leave RCR after his contract ends at the conclusion of the 2010 season. However, after a strong start to the 2010 season, Harvick signed a multi-year extension to his RCR contract in May, 2010. Harvick went on to finish 3rd in points for the 2010 season, the highest finish of his career. The team's sponsor, Shell Oil Company and Pennzoil, left after the 2010 season and joined Penske Racing. Budweiser replaced it as the car's primary sponsor beginning in the 2011 season. Harvick and the 29 team recorded three wins early in the year at Fontana, Martinsville, and Charlotte. The team's consistency kept them near the top of the standings, and they recorded a fourth win at the 26th race in Richmond. Despite the team's Chase performance being inconsistent, Harvick would finish third in points for the second year in a row. For 2012, Harvick will be reunited with Shane Wilson as his crew chief.

Car #31 history[link]

Jeff Burton in the #31 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

For over a decade, car #31 was Childress's R&D car. It debuted in 1988 at the fall event at North Carolina Speedway, as #22 and Rodney Combs driving, finishing dead last. Ironically, when Bill Elliott's backup car failed during practice for the pit crew championship, Elliott drove that backup car for his #9 team to do the competition pit stop. The car wasn't seen again until 1993, as #31 and Earnhardt's longtime friend Neil Bonnett driving at Talladega Superspeedway. In this race, Bonnett, already on a comeback, was involved in a horrifying accident, but made it out okay. After driving another race that year for RCR, Bonnett died testing Phoenix Racing's #51 Country Time Lemonade car for the 1994 Daytona 500.

In 1996, the car returned with defending Craftsman Truck Series champion Mike Skinner driving with Realtree sponsoring the car in four of the five races it ran. Skinner had three-top starts that year, including one on the outside pole. The team finally ran full-time in 1997, with Skinner driving and Lowe's as the sponsor. Skinner won the pole position for both of the races at Daytona, and defeated what has turned out to be a very scant field of drivers for rookie of the year. He suffered some injuries in 1998, and Morgan Shepherd and Childress' son-in-law Mike Dillon filled in for him. Teamed with crew chief Larry McReynolds, 1999 was his best season ever, winning the pole position twice, and finished tenth in points after being the championship leader at one point earlier in the year. However, Skinner was never able to win a points-paying race, although he won two exhibition races in Japan, at Suzuka and Twin Ring Motegi, respectively, as well as some other non-point events. In 2001, he suffered injuries in the opening laps at the inaugural race at Chicagoland. Robby Gordon filled in for him, and struggled heavily, failing to post any top-10 finishes. Skinner returned at Bristol, but he just wasn't the same, and Gordon took his place for him. Late in 2001, it was announced Gordon would drive the car the next year, to the puzzlement of many. Gordon was engaged in a closing-laps battle later in the year with Jeff Gordon to win the season finale at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Armed with a big surge of momentum and a new sponsor in Cingular Wireless had five top-ten finishes and finished 20th in points the following year. 2003 was even better, as he swept both road course events and improved four spots in points. After his performance dipped down in 2004, Gordon decided to leave and start his own team, the #7 with Robby Gordon Motorsports, and Jeff Burton was tabbed as his replacement. Burton had 3 top 5 and 6 top 10 finishes in 2005, finishing 18th in points.

In 2006, Burton finished seventh in the 2006 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. He also won four poles and got his first win in 175 races at Dover. Because of the merger of AT&T and BellSouth the Cingular brand was eliminated. It's sponsorship for the 31 car ended in 2008 due to this and the prohibition of cellular phone sponsors in Sprint Cup. The change of names would constitute a new sponsorship. In June 2008, Caterpillar Inc. announced that it would leave the #22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota to sponsor the #31 starting in 2009.

Car #33 history[link]

What is now the #33 car started as the #90 car in 2003. RCR entered the #90 Chevrolet at the fall Talladega race with John Andretti driving. The car was sponsored by AOL 9.0, and the car was numbered 90 for marketing purposes. In 2004, it was announced that Kerry Earnhardt would drive a #33 Richard Childress Racing Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet in 5 NASCAR Nextel Cup events in 2004. Mike Skinner would run the first race in the car at the Daytona 500, finishing 22nd. Kerry Earnhardt drove the car in the other three restrictor plate races with Bass Pro Shops sponsoring, his best finish being 24th. Earnhardt attempted all of the restrictor plate races again in 2005, finishing 17th at Talladega. In addition, road course ringer Brian Simo brought home a 10th-place finish at Infineon Raceway. Clint Bowyer, Childress' Busch Series driver in the Busch Series, made his Nextel Cup debut in this car with Sylvania sponsorship at Phoenix in April 2005.

On May 2, 2008, The team attempted and failed to qualify for the 2008 Crown Royal presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond, with Nationwide Series Driver Scott Wimmer on board, and the Holiday Inn Sponsorship. RCR expanded to 4 full time Sprint Cup teams in 2009 with sponsorship from General Mills' Cheerios and Hamburger Helper brands on the #33 Chevrolet. ESPN has reported that Bobby Labonte who was rumored to be moving to RCR after the 2008 season has agreed to a contract extension with Petty Enterprises. On August 23, 2008, RCR driver Clint Bowyer was announced as the driver of the #33 General Mills Chevrolet Impala SS for the 2009 season. Casey Mears took over Bowyer's previous car, the #07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet Impala SS. In his first race in the car, Bowyer finished fourth in the 2009 Daytona 500.The Hartford was a sponsor of the #33 during 2010. In 2011, the team struggled with consistency and failed to make the Chase. With the departure of Clint Bowyer to Michael Waltrip Racing, General Mills moved its sponsorship over to the 31 team and the 33 was essentially shut down. The 33 returned for a brief season, running the Daytona 500 with Elliott Sadler; Brendan Gaughan drove the next four races and Elliott's brother Hermie drove at Martinsville.

Prior to the April Martinsville race, Childress announced that he sold the #33 to Joe Falk, a Virginia car dealer who ran Cup Series teams LJ Racing from 1997 to 2000 and a part-time team in 2011. Falk took over the #33 team and housed it at the Hilman Racing shop. The team will become a driver development team. Falk ran Tony Raines at Texas and planned to use a number of other drivers, including Childress' grandson Austin Dillon and the Sadler brothers. The team was later renamed CircleSport Racing with Stephen Leicht declaring eligibility before the Coca-Cola 600 to compete for Rookie of the Year honors.

Nationwide Series[link]

Car #2 history[link]

RCR has fielded this entry in the Nationwide Series since the fall North Carolina Speedway race in 1999, moving the entire team from the Craftsman Truck Series. Kevin Harvick was the first driver of the #2 AC Delco Chevy, winning three races and winning Rookie of the Year, despite missing the spring race at North Carolina Speedway. He went on to win the championship in the Busch Series in 2001 while running full time in Winston Cup as well. In 2002, rookie driver Johnny Sauter won at Chicagoland, and finished 14th in points. The next year, Ron Hornaday drove the car full-time, winning once and posting a third place finish in points. Hornaday followed up that performance with another win and a drop to 4th in points the following year. In 2005, Clint Bowyer took the reins, in a program headed up by veteran crew chief Gil Martin, winning at Nashville Speedway and Memphis Motorsports Park, finishing second in points. Bowyer was back in the #2 car in 2006 with crew chief Dan Deeringhoff, while Martin moved up to run the 07 Jack Daniels program. Bowyer ran the full Nextel Cup schedule for RCR in the #07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet, also running the full BGN season with the #2 car where he finished 3rd in points. 2006 was the final year for AC Delco, as the 2007 sponsor for the #2 will be BB&T. Bowyer will run about 17 races in the #2 for the 2007 season and he will run full-time in 2008 season. Kenny Wallace drove for the team in a one-race deal at Gateway International Raceway, sponsored by sandwich chain Jimmy John's. In 2008, Bowyer won the NASCAR Nationwide Series Drivers Championship. In 2009 this car ran a partial schedule Sean Caisse and Austin Dillon sharing the ride. The team shut down in 2009. In 2012, the #2 will return to RCR after Kevin Harvick sold his team to Childress in late 2011. Elliott Sadler will be the driver with OneMain Financial sponsoring.

Car #3 history[link]

The #3 is a new team for 2012. It will be driven by Austin Dillon and sponsored by AdvoCare, Bass Pro Shops and American Ethanol.

Car #21 history[link]

The #21 debuted in 2000, with Rockwell Automation as the sponsor and Childress' son-in-law Mike Dillon driving. Dillon posted two top 10 finishes and finished 23rd in points that year. Six races into 2001, Dillon was injured at Bristol Motor Speedway, and it was announced at the time he would be out for the rest of the year. Since then, he has taken on other roles with the team. His replacement was Mike Skinner, but after his injury, Jeff Purvis took over briefly, winning at Pikes Peak, before Skinner returned. After Skinner's release, Robby Gordon had the driving duties for the balance of the season. The next year, Jeff Green and Jay Sauter drove the car. In 2003, Childress decided to try to win the Busch Series' owner's championship with the #21, which would have been a first in the history of the series. Hershey Foods became the team's sponsor through its PayDay candy bar brand. Kevin Harvick and Johnny Sauter were tabbed to split the ride, with Harvick making as many starts as he could and Sauter picking up the remaining races. Childress' gamble paid off, as the #21 won the series owner's championship behind three wins from Harvick. Harvick has been the anchor driver ever since, with Clint Bowyer doing the co-driving honors in 2004 and Brandon Miller in 2005 and sponsorship from Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Jeff Burton drove the car at Bristol in 2005. In 2006, Harvick and Jeff Burton split the driving duties in the car with United States Coast Guard sponsorship as Harvick attempted to run the entire Busch Series schedule in three different cars. Burton won at Atlanta, and Harvick won three more races, pulling out to an over 700-point lead in the points standings with 5 races to go in the 2006 season. AutoZone replaced the Coast Guard sponsorship in 2007, and Harvick drove along with development driver Timothy Peters, until Peters was replaced by Sprint car driver Tim McCreadie. Beginning in 2008 Bobby Labonte was to drive the 21 car for 15 races of the season.^[1] In May 2008, the team shut down due to financial problems but returned at the Emerson Radio 250 to debut Austin Dillon, son of former driver Mike Dillon and grandson to Richard Childress.

In 2010 RCR hired John Wes Townley as driver of car #21, with Zaxby's as sponsor. On April 9 John Wes Townley was pulled from the #21 car after a practice crash at Phoenix. RCR said it was for precationary reasons, but Townley later returned to RAB Racing. Clint Bowyer took over driving duties at Phoenix. Scott Riggs drove at Nashville and Kentucky in June. After the July Daytona race, Morgan Shepherd stepped behind the wheel for several weeks, taking a break for Bristol to handle his own car for Faith Motorsports, which didn't make the field. RCR and Shepherd formed Shepherd Racing Ventures on August 31 to keep the #21 running the rest of the year. Bowyer drove with Zaxby's sponsorship at Atlanta, Richmond, Charlotte, and Texas while Shepherd ran an unsponsored #21 car, the other 7 races. Shepherd returned to his Faith Motorsports operation full time and RCR shut this team down. RCR later transferred the #21 owners points to Shepherd. In 2011, RCR briefly restarted its Nationwide program, running a few races with development driver Tim George, Jr. and sponsorship from Applebees.

Car #29 history[link]

The #29 car in 2007.

The 29 car was first run by Johnny Sauter in 2003 at Homestead-Miami Speedway as a thank you from Richard Childress for Sauter's help in winning the 2003 owners' championship.

The 29 car appeared in 2005 at Bristol Motor Speedway as part of a promotion for Reese's Chocolate and Peanut Butter Lovers Cups. The promotion involved the 29 painted as the Chocolate Lovers car and the 21 painted as the Peanut Butter Lovers car. The plan was for Jeff Burton to drive the 29 while Kevin Harvick would drive the 21. Qualifying was rained out, so the entries were switched to assure that both cars would make the field (Harvick was a past champion and the #29 was not locked in). Burton drove the 21 while Harvick drove the 29. Harvick won the race in this car with Burton finishing second in the 21. Later in the season, Mayflower Transit sponsored this car in at least one race run by Jeff Burton.

On March 17, 2006, Holiday Inn announced its sponsorship of the 29 for ten races with Burton returning as its driver. The new car made its 2006 debut at Richmond. Burton finished in the top ten all four times the car raced in 2006, including a win at Dover in June.

In 2007, the #29 went full-time and, like the #21 several years before, Childress set out to win the owners' championship for a second time without a full-time driver. Burton and Scott Wimmer, who had just lost a Sprint Cup Series ride due to lack of sponsorship, shared the #29 with Holiday Inn sponsoring. Burton won five times and Wimmer put together several strong finishes in his time in the car, and Childress had his second Busch Series owners' championship in which no full-time driver raced for the team.

Wimmer left the team following the 2008 season. After one additional season with Burton, Clint Bowyer, and Stephen Leicht driving, RCR shut down the team after Holiday Inn pulled its sponsorship.^[2]

Car #33 History[link]

For 2012, the #33 car was transferred to RCR to run for the owners championship. 2011 champion Tony Stewart drove the #33 with sponsorship from Nabisco's Oreo and Ritz brands at the season opener in Daytona, Harvick will run 15 races with South Point, Pinnacle Foods, Hunt Brothers Pizza and AdvancePierre Foods sponsoring, Brendan Gaughan will join the team for 10 races with South Point sponsoring, Menard will drive for 7 races, and Max Papis will drive at Road America.

Camping World Truck Series[link]

Truck #2 History[link]

For 2012, RCR takes over the #2 truck of KHI that won the Owners Championship in 2011. The truck will be split by primarily Tim George, Jr. running 12 races with Applebee's sponsoring, Brendan Gaughan for 8 races with South Point, and Harvick will run both Martinsville races and Dover with Tide.

Truck #3 History[link]

In the infant years of the CWTS (then known as the SuperTruck Series), RCR fielded its own truck team, always the #3 Goodwrench Chevy. Mike Skinner drove the truck the initial two years, winning the series first championship in 1995 along with 16 races. After he left, Jay Sauter hopped on board, winning four times and finishing in the top 10 in points all three years. He was the last driver to win for RCR in the Camping World Truck Series, until July 11, 2010 when Childress's grandson, Austin Dillon, won the Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway. After 1999, Childress moved the program up to the NASCAR Busch Series.

The truck team returned during the 2009 season as the #3 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Childress's grandson, Austin Dillon for the inaugural race at Iowa Speedway. Dillon would start 9th and finish 12th despite an early spin.

In 2010, Dillon drove the #3 truck full-time sponsored by Bass Pro Shops. Austin won an impressive 5 poles, 2 wins (Iowa and Vegas), and had 15 top tens en route to a 5th place finish in the championship and the 2010 ROTY award. Dillon will return for 2011.

In 2011, Dillon drove the #3 truck to two wins at Nashville and Chicago, winning the championship over Johnny Sauter. After winning the Truck Series championship, Austin moved up to the Nationwide Series, passing down the #3 truck to his brother Ty Dillon for 2012.

Truck #22 History[link]

Childress' second truck entry debuted in 2011 with Joey Coulter behind the wheel. Coulter stayed consistent throughout the year, having the least DNF's among all other rookies. Coulter would eventually prevail over Nelson Piquet, Jr. and Parker Kligerman to win Rookie of the Year

Development[link]

For 2011, Richard Childress Racing fielded the #31 Chevrolet for Tim George Jr. and the #41 Chevrolet for Ty Dillon. Ty is the younger brother of Austin Dillon and one of Richard's grandchildren.^{[citation needed]} Ty won the ARCA championship in 2011 while George finished top 10 in points with a win at Pocono.

Controversy[link]

Following the 2007 Daytona 500 win, Harvick's winning car infuriated NASCAR fuel supplier Sunoco. The car's large Shell logos on the car and team uniforms violated NASCAR's ban on fuel sponsorships, in the opinion of Sunoco, which has exclusive fuel rights. The Shell logo has since shrunk on the car, while the Shell name remains on the side of the car and its Pennzoil brand appears more.

The 31 car without AT&T logos.

AT&T has repeatedly requested that NASCAR allow them to advertise the AT&T Mobility brand on the #31 car, but NASCAR refuses to allow it, citing the Sprint Nextel contract. After trying and failing to get NASCAR to approve the addition of the globe logo to the rear of the car, AT&T filed a lawsuit against NASCAR on March 16, 2007.^[3][4] On May 18, a federal judge ruled that AT&T should be allowed to replace the Cingular logos with AT&T logos, and said that AT&T was likely to win the lawsuit.^[5] The AT&T logo ran on the #31 at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup All-Star Challenge on May 19 and so far ever since then until NASCAR ordered the sponsorship off before the 2007 Sharpie 500. A settlement before the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 was made where AT&T Mobility could sponsor the car until the end of 2008.

See also[link]

• Childress Vineyards

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website for Richard Childress Racing
• Racing Reference

Richard Childress
Born	(1945-09-21) September 21, 1945 (age 66) Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Awards	1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship car owner 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007 NASCAR Busch Series championship car owner 1995 (series' inagural season),2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship truck owner 2011 ARCA Racing Series championship car owner
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
285 race(s) run over 12 year(s)
Best finish	5th - 1975 Winston Cup Series season
First race	1969 Talladega 500 (Talladega)
Last race	1981 Winston Western 500 (Riverside)
Wins Top tens Poles 76

Richard Childress (born September 21, 1945) is a former NASCAR driver and the current team owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR). As a business entrepreneur, Childress became one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina. A 2003/2004 business venture was the opening of a vineyard in the Yadkin Valley AVA, an American Viticultural Area located in North Carolina.^[1] Childress was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Driving career[link]

Childress' career in NASCAR's top levels started auspiciously as a drivers' strike at Talladega Superspeedway left NASCAR President William France Sr. looking for replacement drivers. Childress was such a driver, and started his first race as a replacement.

By 1971, Childress began racing on the top level as an independent driver, using the number 96. He changed to number 3 in 1976 as a tribute to Junior Johnson's past as a driver. Although he never won as a driver, he proved to be average behind the wheel registering six top-5, seventy-six top-10 finishes, with a career-best of third in 1978.

Ownership of Richard Childress Racing[link]

Childress working the pits in 1986

He retired from driving in 1981 after Rod Osterlund sold his NASCAR team to J.D. Stacy, and Osterlund's driver, Dale Earnhardt, did not want to drive for Stacy. Childress, with recommendations from R. J. Reynolds Tobacco, chose to retire and put Earnhardt behind the wheel of his #3 car, complete with Wrangler Jeans sponsorship.

That first alliance lasted for the season. Ricky Rudd was hired in 1982 and drove for two years, giving Childress his first career victory in June 1983 at Riverside. Earnhardt returned for the 1984 season, and together with Childress formed one of the most potent combinations in NASCAR history. They won championships in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994.

In the mid-1990s, Childress began expanding his racing empire, fielding entries in the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series. The team won the 1995 Craftsman Truck Series championship with driver Mike Skinner in the series' first season. He also expanded to a two-car operation in what is now known as the Sprint Cup, with driver Skinner driving the #31. In the first part of the 2000s, he expanded to three cars, with the #30 car driven by Jeff Green.

Earnhardt was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Childress promoted Busch driver Kevin Harvick to drive the renumbered #29. Harvick would win in only his third start, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

With Harvick having won the Busch Series championship in 2001 and 2006, RCR became the first team in NASCAR history to win all three of NASCAR's national championship series. RCR also won the Busch Series owners championships in 2003 with Kevin Harvick and Johnny Sauter and in 2007 with Scott Wimmer and Jeff Burton.

Most recently, RCR won the 2008 Nationwide Series Championship with Clint Bowyer piloting the #2.

Personal life[link]

Richard Childress currently resides in one of the largest mansions in northwestern Davidson County, North Carolina. The Richard Childress Racing Museum is located in nearby Welcome, along with numerous racing maintenance shops. The Childress Vineyards winery is located a few miles south of the museum in Lexington at the US 52/US 64 interchange. Childress remains active in his current county of residence, attending fundrasiers and supporting local candidates for office.^{[citation needed]}

Controversy[link]

Childress was involved in a physical altercation with fellow Camping World Truck Series owner and current driver Kyle Busch following the Truck race on June 4, 2011.

Joey Coulter, driver of Childress's #22 Chevrolet Silverado, battled tightly for position with the #18 Toyota Tundra of Kyle Busch. Coulter would eventually hold off Busch, taking the 5th spot in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250. Once the race had concluded, Busch purposely bumped into one of Childress's trucks on the cool-down lap.^[2] Childress reportedly approached Busch in the garage area, took off his jewellery (a gold watch) and proceeded to punch Busch in the face. The fight was broken up and insults were exchanged before Childress put Busch in a headlock and hit him again.^[3]

Two days later, NASCAR fined Childress $150,000 and placed him on probation through the end of the year.^[4] Kyle Busch was not fined or disciplined. NASCAR President Mike Helton stated that "[Busch] did nothing that would have warranted the actions of Richard Childress." ^[5]

See also[link]

• Childress Vineyards
• List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards

References[link]

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/7189656/richard-childress-takes-no-3-back-full-time-nationwide

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Richard Childress

• Richard Childress owner statistics at Racing Reference (owner)
• Richard Childress at Racing Reference (driver)

Kyle Thomas Busch
Born	(1985-05-02) May 2, 1985 (age 27) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Achievements	2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion 2008 Southern 500 Winner 2012 Budweiser Shootout Winner 2009 Snowball Derby Winner
Awards	2004 NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
269 race(s) run over 9 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 18 (Joe Gibbs Racing)
2011 position	12th
Best finish	5th – 2007
First race	2004 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 (Las Vegas)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	2005 Sony HD 500 (California)
Last win	2012 Capital City 400 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 24 128 8
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
229 race(s) run over 10 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 54 (Kyle Busch Motorsports)
2011 position	90th
Best finish	1st – 2009
First race	2003 Carquest Auto Parts 300 (Charlotte)
Last race	2012 History 300 (Charlotte)
First win	2004 Funai 250 (Richmond)
Last win	2011 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 51 152 23
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
101 race(s) run over 9 year(s)
2011 position	81st
Best finish	14th – 2008/2010
First race	2001 Power Stroke Diesel 200 (Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis)
Last race	2011 WinStar World Casino 350K (Texas)
First win	2005 Quaker Steak and Lube 200 (Charlotte)
Last win	2011 New Hampshire 175 (New Hampshire)
Wins Top tens Poles 30 78 12
Statistics current as of May 27, 2012.

Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American NASCAR driver and team owner. He currently drives the No. 18 Mars, Inc./Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series and owns Kyle Busch Motorsports, which runs the #54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry for Kyle and his brother Kurt in the Nationwide Series and the #18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra for Jason Leffler in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

He currently holds the modern-era record for most race wins in a season across the top three NASCAR series with twenty-four wins, which he accomplished in 2010. On August 21, 2010, Busch became the first driver to win in all three of NASCAR's top three touring series in the same weekend (Bristol). Busch became the first driver in Nationwide series history to lead more than 10,000 laps.^[1] Busch also holds the record for the most NASCAR Nationwide Series wins with 51, surpassing Mark Martin's 49.

Busch is also only the second driver to ever win on his birthday, winning the 2009 Crown Royal Presents the Russell Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway, which was run on his 24th birthday. Cale Yarborough was the first.

Kyle Busch married Samantha Sarcinella on December 31, 2010 in Chicago. Sarcinella is a native of St. John, Indiana and a graduate of Purdue University.

He is the younger brother of 2004 Nextel Cup Series champion Kurt Busch.

Early life[link]

Kyle Busch's first driving lessons came at the age of 6 when he drove around the cul-de-sac of his family's Las Vegas neighborhood in a makeshift go-kart. Although he was too small to reach the throttle, Busch still was able to pick up the basics from his father Tom, who controlled the gas pedal as his young son steered the kart. Throughout his childhood, Busch spent many hours as an apprentice to his father and older brother Kurt in the family garage learning to build and repair race cars. By the age of 10, he was a full-fledged mechanic and served as crew chief of his older brother's dwarf car team. In addition to working on cars, Busch enjoyed forms of martial arts, including karate.

In 1998, shortly after his 13th birthday, Busch's driving career officially began. From 1999 through 2001, Busch earned more than 65 wins in legends car racing as he racked up two track championships at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's "Bullring" before moving to late models. He captured 10 victories in late model competition at the Bullring in 2001.^[2]

Early career[link]

At the age of 16, Busch began competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (now Camping World Truck Series) for Roush Racing as a replacement for Nathan Haseleu and Chuck Hossfeld, who were released midway in the 2001 season. He made his debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park, impressing many people with a 9th place finish. In his second race at Chicago Motor Speedway, he was leading with less than 20 laps to go until his truck ran out of fuel with 12 laps to go.

Busch was the fastest in practice for a 2001 Craftsman Truck Series race at California Speedway in Fontana, CA, when he was ejected from the track by CART officials because the American Racing Wheels 200 was part of a CART weekend featuring the Marlboro 500 CART FedEx Championship Series event.^[3] Marlboro threw Busch out of the garage because of an interpretation of the Master Settlement Agreement of 1998, prohibiting people under 18 years of age in participating in events sponsored by tobacco companies. He earned two top-10 finishes in six starts in the #99 Eldon Ford F-150 in what had been scheduled to be a full-season campaign for 2002.

Six weeks after the incident, NASCAR imposed a minimum age of 18 years starting in 2002 to prevent future incidents from happening again, because Winston was the premier series sponsor at the time. When the age requirements were put in place, Busch switched from NASCAR to the American Speed Association (ASA) series, finishing 8th in points.

In 2002, Busch graduated a year early with honors from Durango High School in Las Vegas, Nevada to focus on his driving career. That same year, he made his debut in the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Lowe's Motor Speedway, finishing twelfth in the #22 WP Motorsports Chevrolet.

In 2003, Busch signed a driver development contract with Hendrick Motorsports, and drove seven ARCA races in their #87 ditech entry. He won his first two races at Nashville Superspeedway and Kentucky Speedway, and won his most recent ARCA race the following year at Daytona.

He is often nicknamed "Shrub", since he is the younger brother of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch and a small bush is called a shrub.^[4]

NASCAR career[link]

2003–2007[link]

Upon turning 18, Busch partnered with Hendrick Motorsports to run six NASCAR Busch Series races at selected tracks, running the #87 Ditech.com Chevrolet Monte Carlo for NEMCO Motorsports. During his seat time in that ride, Busch finished a Busch Series career-high second in his first NASCAR Busch Series race at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in May 2003.

Busch's first full-time season began in 2004, as he competed in the Lowe's car vacated by Brian Vickers, who had moved up to the NEXTEL Cup series. Busch clinched Rookie of the Year honors in the series, receiving his first top-10 finish of the season at the second race in Rockingham, won his first pole of the season in the fifth race, and claimed his first victory at the Richmond International Raceway at the Funai 250 in May.^[5] Busch went on to claim five wins in 2004, making him the record holder of most races won by a driver in their rookie season,^[6] and finished second to Martin Truex, Jr. in the overall points. Busch also qualified for six Nextel Cup races out of nine attempts in 2004 in the #84 Carquest Chevrolet for Hendrick, his highest finish being 24th at California Speedway.

After the announcement that long time Hendrick NEXTEL Cup series driver Terry Labonte would be running a limited schedule in 2005 and 2006, Busch was picked to take over the #5 Kellogg's/Carquest Auto Parts Chevrolet Monte Carlo, crew chiefed by Alan Gustafson. He won his first career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race on September 4 in the Sony HD 500 at California Speedway,^[7] driving for Rick Hendrick. At the end of the season Busch won the 2005 Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year with 2 wins and a 20th place points finish.^[8] The earlier win at Fontana made Busch eligible to become a part of the 20 NASCAR Triple Threats, a group of drivers who have won a race in NASCAR's top three divisions. At the time, he was the youngest-ever winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, at 20 years, 125 days, a mark that has since been eclipsed by current teammate Joey Logano. He also became the youngest pole sitter in NEXTEL Cup history after winning the pole for the 2005 Auto Club 500.^[9]

Kyle Busch speeds out of the garage at Phoenix International Raceway

Busch returned to the Craftsman Truck Series in 2005 for a limited number of races in Billy Ballew Motorsports's Chevrolets, winning his first career truck series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 20, 2005, becoming the youngest driver to win a Truck Series race, at 20 years 19 days.^[10] He would also win the truck race at Dover International Speedway, and the fall race in Atlanta Motor Speedway, both 200-mile races. In addition, he ran a limited schedule in the Busch Series driving the #5 and #57 for Hendrick. He won at Lowe's Motor Speedway; but did not qualify for the race at Texas Motor Speedway, a track he had won the pole at one year earlier.

In 2006, he took the victory in the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, and qualified for the Chase for the Cup during the last race before the 2006 Chase at Richmond International Raceway, in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, where he finished second after leading the most laps. He entered the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup fourth in Cup points. Busch started the first race of the Chase mid-pack in the 43 car field at the New Hampshire International Speedway but got caught up in an incident on lap four when he and the #66 Best Buy Chevrolet of Jeff Green made contact, knocking his front suspension out of line, and eventually spun out and wrecked the car. Busch followed up the next week at Dover International Speedway with an initially strong run before an engine failure took him out of the race. Busch then went to the Kansas Speedway and led several laps before being caught for speeding on pit road and finished in the bottom half of the top-ten. He finished the season in tenth place in the 2006 NEXTEL Cup standings, 448 points behind champion Jimmie Johnson. His winnings for the 2006 season sum up to $5,537,337. Busch is currently the youngest driver to make the NASCAR NEXTEL Chase for the Cup.

Busch repeated his Lowe's victory in 2006 in a truck painted to resemble the Rowdy Burns car from Days of Thunder, in a tribute to Bobby Hamilton (who was the stunt driver for the character), who was in the midst of a cancer battle which would later take his life. In addition, he ran nearly the entire 2006 season in the #5 Lowe's/Shop-Vac Chevy, winning one race and finishing seventh in points despite skipping one race.

Busch became the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver to win in NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow at the 2007 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also scored Hendrick Motorsports their 200th NASCAR win (in all series), and also scored Chevrolet's 600th NASCAR victory, the first by the Chevrolet Impala since Wendell Scott's 1963 win in Jacksonville, Florida.^[11] At the Aaron's 312 Busch Race at Talladega, Busch went on a wild ride down the backstretch when he got turned into teammate Casey Mears' car by Tony Stewart. The car spun towards the outside wall and flipped onto its roof. The car then slid down the track and hit the turn 3 grass, flipping side over side. The car flipped a total of seven times, but Busch walked away unscathed. In the Nextel All-Star Challenge at the Lowe's Motor Speedway, he and older brother Kurt Busch got together, knocking them both out of the race. In June 2007, Busch announced his plans to leave Hendrick Motorsports after the 2007 season. The two sides had been working on a contract extension but eventually agreed mutually to part ways.^[12] It was announced the same day that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be replacing him at Hendrick Motorsports. However, days later Busch stated that he had no idea he was going to be released.^[13] It was announced two months later that Busch had chosen Joe Gibbs Racing for his team in the 2008 season. He replaced J. J. Yeley in the #18 Toyota Camry, with M&M's coming over from Yates Racing as the primary sponsor. In the Busch Series, he ran nineteen races and won four times, garnering a sixteenth-place points finish. He also made eleven starts in the Craftsman Truck Series for Billy Ballew in the #51 Flanders Beef Patties truck, winning 3 times.^[14]

2008–2011[link]

Kyle Busch's 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Car

Busch's tenure with Joe Gibbs started off with leading the most laps (86) in the 50th Annual Daytona 500 before finishing 4th. He followed that with another 4th place finish in the Auto Club 500. As a result, he took the lead in the points standings for the first time in his career. Busch led 173 of the 325 laps and won the Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was the 5th career win for Busch, and the first Sprint Cup points race victory for Toyota.

On August 23 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards tapped Busch's rear bumper on lap 470/500 to take the lead Busch had owned for most of the race. After the race, Busch pulled alongside to bump into Edwards repeatedly, to "let him know I didn't appreciate the way he passed me."^[15] Edwards responded by spinning out Busch. The following week, NASCAR announced that both Edwards and Busch were being placed on probation for the off-track argument.^[16]

Busch's hopes for his first championship were dashed by two consecutive DNF's at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway, wiping out his 20-point lead and dropping him to 12th in points. However, Busch ralled back with top fives and gained two more spots to close out his first season with JGR 10th in points. Busch had a career-high eight wins and twenty-one top-tens that season.

Busch also ran 30 Nationwide races, and along with Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Tony Stewart helped win the 2008 Nationwide series Owners Championship for Joe Gibbs Racing for the number 20 car. He ran in the series for three different teams and in 4 different numbers, running Braun Racing's number 32 with Beringer and Dollar General sponsorship, the 92 Toyota with Zippo BLU sponsorship for D'Hondt Motorsports in the Zippo 200, and for Joe Gibbs Racing in the number 18 with sponsorship from Interstate Batteries, DLP, Z-Line Designs and Southern Farm Bureau Insurance and the number 20 with Doosan Infracore, Farm Bureau and Z-Line as sponsors.

Busch accumulated 4 poles, 20 top tens and 18 top fives in his partial season, and won 10 races which tied the Nationwide series record for most wins in a season with Sam Ard, who had accomplished the feat some 24 years earlier. In the Craftsman Truck Series, Busch finished second in the Chevy Silverado 250 at Daytona International Speedway, and followed it up a week later with a win in the San Bernardino County 200 at the newly named Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Two weeks later at Atlanta, he raced to another win in the American Commercial Lines 200. Busch acquired his 2nd Craftsman Truck Series pole in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.^[17] His 3rd win of the 2008 truck series season was at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Kyle Busch on pit road at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

On February 12 2009, Busch won the second Gatorade Duel at Daytona. This was the first qualifying race win for Busch, allowing him to start fourth in the 51st Daytona 500. Busch led 88 laps, leading the most for the second year in a row. However, he was taken out on lap 125 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned into Brian Vickers' car, starting a chain reaction crash that sent Vickers into Busch's car, wrecking it, and several other lead lap cars. The following week, Busch made NASCAR history, becoming the first person in the history of the sport to win races in two of NASCAR's touring series in the same day by winning the San Bernardino County 200 in the afternoon and the Stater Brothers 300 in the evening. The next week, he won the 2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in his hometown. After the race, he and his brother exchanged a long, passionate hug, perhaps signaling the end of their feud. Darrell Waltrip was quoted as saying it was the "sweetest thing he had ever seen".^[18] Busch was the first to win three Cup races in 2009, collecting his third win at Richmond International Raceway. With his win in the 2009 Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400, Busch joined Cale Yarborough as the only drivers to win on their birthday.

Busch was involved in a violent wreck at the end of the 2009 Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway. While leading on the final lap, only yards from the finish line, Tony Stewart and Busch made contact, sending Busch spinning hard into the outside wall, his car nearly flipping over, which was then hit by Kasey Kahne, sending the car up on its nose. Busch took another hard hit in the driver's side from teammate Joey Logano before spinning to a stop in the infield. Stewart won the race.^[19]

Busch would finsh 5th at Richmond, but he missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup by 8 points. Brian Vickers would get the last spot.

2009 Nationwide championship car at Milwaukee

In the Nationwide Series on November 21, 2009, Kyle Busch won both the Nationwide Series finale and his first NASCAR Championship, becoming the first driver since Sam Ard in 1983 to win the season finale and the championship in the same year.^[20][21][22] Busch finished the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series season with 9 wins, 25 top 5's, and 30 top 10's.

Busch's 2009 season in the newly-renamed Camping World Truck Series started off much like the 2008 season had. Finishing second in the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway to Todd Bodine, as they had finished in 2008, Busch then dominated the San Bernardino County 200 a week later at Auto Club Speedway, winning the pole and leading 95 of 100 laps. Bodine finished second – again, the same as the two had finished in this race the year before. The following race, the American Commercial Lines 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Busch again won the pole, and overcame an ill-handling truck as well as transmission problems to take the lead in the closing laps. Busch was able to hold off Kevin Harvick to win the race for the second year in a row. It was his fourth win in five Truck Series starts at Atlanta.

On December 11, 2009, Kyle Busch announced the formation of Kyle Busch Motorsports that will field two teams in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2010. KBM will have two truck teams running in the series.^[23] The #18 Toyota Tundra was to be driven by Busch part time, with the remainder of races to be driven by Brian Ickler. The second truck, the #56 Toyota Tundra, was to be driven by Tayler Malsam. However, after both Ickler and Malsam accepted jobs to drive in the Nationwide Series, and while suffering financial troubles due to lack of sponsorship, Busch withdrew the #56 from competition and has hired various drivers such as Johnny Benson and Kasey Kahne as well as Brian Ickler to fill in on #18 when Busch wasn't driving it himself.

On August 21, 2010, Kyle Busch became the first driver in NASCAR history to win all 3 NASCAR tour events in one weekend. This was achieved at Bristol with a win for the Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series, and the Sprint Cup Series. Busch started 19th in his Doublemint Toyota. He worked his way to the front, but Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart led him until a caution came out. Stewart checked up, allowing Tony Raines in the #37 car to hit his rear bumper, losing him the lead and the race. On the restart, Busch passed Johnson for the lead, but soon after Johnson was turned into the wall by Juan Pablo Montoya. Kyle Busch continued on to win the race leading the most laps and setting yet another record. Now Kyle is one of the most dominant forces in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Series. In the Nationwide series he won 11 races in 2010, breaking the all-time record for most Nationwide Series wins in a season previously held by Sam Ard with 10. On October 30, 2010, Busch scored a controversial victory in the Camping World Truck Series Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, which saw Busch's truck wiggle below the track's double-yellow "out-of-bounds" line as Busch made the winning pass on second-place finisher Aric Almirola at the finish line.

For 2011, Busch's Speedweeks started off on a low note, as he crashed out of the Budweiser Shootout along with teammate Joey Logano. Busch also raced in all 3 NASCAR events at Daytona, finishing 5th in the Truck Race, 7th in the Nationwide race, and 8th in the Daytona 500. The next week at Phoenix, Busch dominated the Truck race and led every single lap in the Bashas' Supermarkets 200. Kyle Would also Sweep the weekend at Bristol in the Nationwide and Cup Series on the March 19th and March 20 Race Weekend at Thunder Valley. On April 30, 2011, Kyle won at Richmond International Raceway, capturing his 2nd win in the 2011 season. Following an on-track incident with Kevin Harvick during and after the Southern 500 at Darlington Speedway, Kyle was fined $25,000 and put on probation for 4 races (plus the All-Star Race).^[24]

Following the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250, pit reporter Ray Dunlap tweeted, “Hot news from the track. Grandpa Childress put a whipping on Kyle Busch in the truck garage". Dunlap mistakenly referred to him as "kubu", which is Twitter shorthand for Kurt Busch, who was not involved.

It is believed that Kyle Busch's post-race bump of Joey Coulter, who drove the #22 Richard Childress Racing-owned Chevrolet Silverado, was in response to Coulter passing Busch on the final lap. About 30 minutes after the race, witnesses say that Childress came up to Busch, put him in a head lock and started punching him. Busch, who was still on probation at the time of the incident, did not violate his probation. Childress, however, was fined $150,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until December 31, 2011. Busch said in an interview that he did not hit Coulter's truck intentionally and that it was a congratulatory bump. He also said that he would pay Childress for the damage on Coulter's truck.^[25]

On August 21, 2011, Busch won the Pure Michigan 400 for his 4th victory of the 2011 season and became the first man to clinch a spot in the Chase. Jeff Gordon was the class of the field late, but after a late race debris caution, Busch beat Gordon and Matt Kenseth out of the pits and held off Jimmie Johnson for the win.

On August 26, 2011 Busch won the Nationwide Series at Bristol Motor Speedway surpassing Mark Martin for the most Nationwide series wins ever, with 50, and also simultaneously became the first driver to win three consecutive races at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Nationwide Series. He also won this race in one of the closest finishes in series history, as he won the race by 0.019 seconds over teammate Joey Logano.

On November 4, 2011, Busch was involved in an incident during the 2011 WinStar World Casino 350K at Texas Motor Speedway. After a racing incident with series regular and championship contender Ron Hornaday, Busch deliberately turned him into the outside wall under caution, ending Hornaday's title hopes. NASCAR black-flagged Busch for the rest of the race. The next morning, NASCAR announced that Busch would remain parked for the remainder of the weekend, including the 2011 O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge and the 2011 AAA Texas 500. NASCAR took this action under rules that allow it to park a driver in order to ensure the "orderly conduct of the event," an action which is not appealable. Denny Hamlin and Michael McDowell stepped up to replace Busch in both the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup series races. It was the first time since what is now the Camping World Truck Series was launched in 1995 that NASCAR has parked a driver across all three national series, and only the third cross-series sanction in NASCAR's 64-year history.^[26] NASCAR's action mathematically eliminated Busch from contention for the Sprint Cup, though any realistic chance of him winning it ended earlier in the Chase.

Later that day, Busch issued an apology to his fans, sponsors and teammates, saying that the Texas incident was "certainly a step backward."^[27]

On November 7, NASCAR fined Busch $50,000 for "actions detrimental to stock car racing." While it lifted the parking directive, it placed Busch on probation for the rest of the year, saying that he will be suspended indefinitely if he commits another offense detrimental to stock car racing or disrupts the orderly conduct of a NASCAR event.^[28]

On November 10, ESPN's David Newton reported that M&M's, the primary sponsor for Busch's Sprint Cup team, wanted its name off the car for the last two races of the 2011 season. M&M's maker, Mars, Incorporated, had harshly criticized Busch's behavior in Texas. Newton said that this has led Joe Gibbs Racing to open talks with Aric Almirola about taking over for Busch for the last two Sprint Cup races.^[29] Earlier, Z-Line Designs asked that Hamlin take over as the driver for Busch's Nationwide Series team.^[30] Later that night, however, it was decided that Busch would remain as the driver for the Sprint Cup team, but secondary sponsor Interstate Batteries will be the sole sponsor for the final two races of 2011. M&M's would return as sponsor for the 2012 season.^[31]

2012[link]

Recovering from a disastrous 2011, Busch and the #18 team started off their 2012 season on a high note by winning their first Budweiser Shootout, and for 2012, Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that they would also race in the Nationwide Series, alongside his brother, Kurt Busch, driving the #54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, but for only fourteen events in the series for him. Kyle Busch won the Richmond 400 on April 28, 2012, for the fourth year in a row.

Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Statistics[link]

(Data current as of November 5, 2011)^[32]

Formula One[link]

Busch was one of three American drivers under consideration to drive for the US-based Formula One team US F1, along with Alexander Rossi and Jonathan Summerton before the team folded due to economic issues. Busch was scheduled to test drive a Toyota F1 car at the end of 2008 season, but could not make it in the end because of a commitment to the Nationwide Series banquet.

Kyle Busch Foundation[link]

According to the KBFoundation Mission Statement, The Kyle Busch Foundation is dedicated to providing essential tools for less fortunate children throughout the country. KBF will concentrate its efforts on assisting organizations in fostering a safe environment for children to live, learn and challenge themselves as well as seeing that day to day needs are met.^[33] His foundation sponsors his #51 late model which is driven by Alex Haase. Busch also has personal sponsorship deals in place with Monster Energy and Electric Visual, with both appearing on his late model at one time or another.

During the 2008 season, Busch announced the "Kyle's Miles" program, inviting consumers to go to www.dogsrule.com.^[34] Kyle's Miles is a team-up with Pedigree to help dogs in shelters and breed rescue organizations.

Legal troubles[link]

On May 24, 2011, Busch was cited for reckless driving and speeding in Troutman, North Carolina, driving 128 mph (206 km/h) in a 45 mph (72 km/h) speed limit zone.^[35] He claims he got carried away test driving a Lexus LFA and issued a public apology. On August 23, 2011, he received a $1,000 fine and had his license suspended for 45 days after he pleaded guilty to speeding. Busch also will have to serve 30 hours of community service and 1 year of unsupervised probation.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Kyle Busch at Racing Reference